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Topic: The Spider-Man Movie Series (Read 29845 times)

They're definitely casting against type. They're both GOOD actors, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Gotta assume Giamatti's suit will be entirely CG. I always loved the Rhino... looking forward to seeing him on the big screen.

I always kind of liked the Rhino as well, so I'm looking forward to seeing him on the big screen too. I definitely wouldn't say that Paul Giamatti was the first name that popped into my head, but you just never know. I didn't know about Heath Ledger or Anne Hathaway either, and look how that turned out. Plus, I know Giamatti came out a couple of years ago saying that he wanted to play the Rhino - way before the Amazing Spider-Man movie was even a thought.

I'm ok with two villains in a movie, but any more than that can get too busy. It all depends on how it is handled I guess. Look at Nolan's Batman (which for the most part everyone loves), every movie has multiple villains: Batman Begins (Scarecrow, Ras Al Ghul), Dark Knight (Scarecrow cameo, Joker, Two Face), Dark Knight Rises (Bane, Catwoman, Talia Al Ghul, Scarecrow cameo again). Sure, it can be horrible in some cases (Spidey 3, Batman and Robin, etc.), but I think two can be handled. As crazy as it sounds, the kid in me would love to see the Spidey series slowly build up to having a Sinister Six blowout. Handle the character background/build up in the previous movies and then lead to an all-out action Sinister Six movies. Ideally, in Spidey 6, although it is unlikely they'd keep the cast for that long (or they'd be too old). Anyways, Rhino sounds good to me.

I applaud diversity as much as the next fella, but there is something to be said to staying faithful to the original source material. Jamie Foxx would make a kick-ass Luke Cage, or Black Panther. Or that cyborg dude from Teen Titans.

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Slice you open like a tauntaun, faster than the Autobahn, Or a motorbike in Tron, do the deed and then I'm gone.

I think that's a short-sighted view. EVERYONE in comics was white until 1969. The original source material was influenced by racism. I don't see a problem abandoning that precedent. I think as long as the choice makes sense, that studios should be free to ignore the race from the source material.

Yeah, I can appreciate the historical context, but I wouldn't go so far as to concede the source material was influenced by racism. Not sure Stan Lee would agree with that either. If anything, comics were more socially progressive in many ways than a lot of other mainstream media at the time. I just think they were reflective of a different society than what we have evolved into today is all.

It's like Disney trying to pretend "Song of the South" never happened...come on guys, I saw that movie in the theater! Are people really going to come after you with torches and pitchforks if you release it on DVD domestically?

I say it's all part and parcel of the whole, gotta embrace it warts and all.

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Slice you open like a tauntaun, faster than the Autobahn, Or a motorbike in Tron, do the deed and then I'm gone.

I am with McMetal on this one. You can add Nick Fury to that list (yes, I know the ultimates version was black) and Heimedal and now Perry White as well. For me it isn't a race issue, but a matter of staying true to the character's look. If they made Iron Man purple and green, he wouldnt look right. How about Storm with red hair or Wolverine with a ponytail? Thor with a black haired crew cut? These are iconic characters that shouldnt be messed with just to drive more diversity in the audience.

Yeah, I can appreciate the historical context, but I wouldn't go so far as to concede the source material was influenced by racism. Not sure Stan Lee would agree with that either.

The comic writers themselves weren't racists. But they made decisions knowing racism was a major factor in their audience. They knew readers wouldn't buy the comic if the Fantastic Four was a group of black people. Comic writers at Marvel did strive to include blacks after the company was successful enough to survive any backlash, but they were well aware in the early '60s that they were writing books for white boys in a time when racism was the norm. So that's why I say the choices were driven by racism.

If they made Iron Man purple and green, he wouldnt look right. How about Storm with red hair or Wolverine with a ponytail? Thor with a black haired crew cut? These are iconic characters that shouldnt be messed with just to drive more diversity in the audience.

But those are all ridiculous and stupid. Making Electro black isn't the same as making Storm a redhead. The essence of Electro's character isn't that he's white. And when you make movies now, unless the essence of a character is his race, that factor can and should be ignored. There are tons of black electrical engineers out there, so it's entirely plausible that in 2013 one of them might be the electrical engineer that stumbles into some super powers.

And Marvel has proven that they can even push that limit and succeed. I wasn't entirely on board making Heimedal, a Norse god, black. Norse gods are white, after all. But Idris Elba did such an AMAZING job in the role he won me over. Now I couldn't imagine anybody else as the character. So sometimes even when they cross that line, they win.

How is turning Electro from a white guy to a black guy any different than changing the hair color on Storm or giving Iron Man's suit different colors? Is changing the color or someone's skin any more or less dramatic than changing the color or their hair? Why would Iron Man be red and gold anyway? Seems like combos of gray and silver would make more sense, wouldn't they? Why does Thor need long, blonde hair? Is the essence of Thor really his hair? Man, imagine the reaction fans and press would have if they had made movie-Storm a white girl.

The fact is that they want to keep the main characters true to form and more marketable, but seem to want to make secondary (or less) characters different races just to push audience diversity. If you're bringing in black actors because they are amazing actors and will fill the role better than someone else, I can accept that. If you're bringing in black actors just to create buzz about how you switched up someone's race or to try to make the movie's mass market appeal greater, then that bothers me for some reason. It just seems phony and forced.